The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) Grant

The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Smithsonian Institution (SI)
Amount: Up to US $70,000
Last Updated: July 06, 2025

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) provides opportunities for independent research related to Smithsonian collections and facilities. Targeted at graduate, predoctoral, postdoctoral, and senior researchers, fellows can work alongside Smithsonian staff for periods ranging from ten weeks to a year. The program encourages interdisciplinary applications across diverse fields, including anthropology, environmental science, and art history, making it an excellent platform for scholars to advance their studies while leveraging extensive institutional resources.

Overview

NOTE: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact staff members to help identify potential advisors, determine the feasibility of the proposed research being conducted at the Smithsonian Institution, and the availability of relevant resources such as staff, collections, archives and library materials during the proposed tenure dates. The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers opportunities for independent research or study related to Smithsonian collections, facilities, and/or research interests of the Institution and its staff. Fellowships are offered to graduate students, predoctoral students, and postdoctoral and senior researchers to conduct independent research and to utilize the resources of the Institution with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff serving as advisors and hosts. These fellowships are offered through the Smithsonian’s Office of Academic Appointments and Internships, and are administered under the charter of the Institution, 20 U.S. Code section 41 et seq. The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers fellowships for research and study in the following fields and encourages applications of an interdisciplinary nature: Animal behavior, ecology, and environmental science, including an emphasis on the tropics; Anthropology, including archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and physical anthropology; Astrophysics and astronomy; Earth sciences and paleobiology; Evolutionary & systematic biology; Folklife; History of science and technology; History of art, especially American, contemporary, African, and Asian art, twentieth-century American crafts, and decorative arts; Materials research; Molecular biology; Social and cultural history of the United States

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Qualifications for ApplicationApplicants are encouraged to propose to conduct research in-residence at the Smithsonian in one of its areas of research as outlined in the publication, Smithsonian Opportunities for Research and Study, for a period of three to twelve months, or ten weeks for the Graduate Student Fellowship. Past or current fellowship recipients are eligible to apply for another award.Applicants whose native language is not English are expected to have the ability to write and converse fluently in English. All application materials must be presented in English (foreign transcripts may be translated, see below).Determination of the fellowship category for which to apply should be based on the anticipated academic level at the time the fellowship would begin:Graduate Student Fellowships: When they apply, students must be formally enrolled in a graduate program of study at a degree-granting institution. Before the appointment begins fellows must still be enrolled and must have completed at least one full-time semester or its equivalent. Graduate Student Fellowships are intended for students who have not yet been advanced to candidacy if in a doctoral program.Predoctoral Fellowships: Students enrolled in a university as candidates for the Ph.D. or equivalent are eligible for predoctoral fellowships. By the time the appointment begins, the university must approve the undertaking of dissertation research at the Smithsonian Institution and certify that requirements for the doctorate, other than the dissertation, have been met.Postdoctoral Fellowships: The doctorate degree must be completed by the time the fellowship begins.Senior Fellowships: Applicants must have held a Ph.D. or equivalent for at least 7 years. Applicants who have received the Ph.D. or equivalent before June 1, 2016 are eligible to apply for senior fellowships. If you have taken a “leave of absence” from research and wish to apply under the postdoctoral fellowship application instead of senior fellowship application you will need to provide a justification in the additional information section at the end of the application.

Ineligibility

No employee or contractor of the Smithsonian Institution may hold a Smithsonian fellowship during the time of his/her employment or contract, nor may an award be offered to any person who has been employed by or under contract to the Institution in the previous year, without the prior approval of the Office Academic Appointments and Internships (OAAI).